Generator for Casita trailer

[TomB44]

I have been looking for a generator for my Casita. I understand the Honda generators are the most popular. I want a 3000 watt generator and I find the Honda 3000 A bit expensive. I have looking at the Boliy generator. I can purchase the Boliy, 3000W for just over $1,100.00. I would like some input from anyone who owned a Boliy. Thanks is advance. TomB

[cpaharley2008]

Why do you want a 3000 watt generator? A 2000 watt Honda will handle anything in the Casita unless you want to operate the microwave and a/c together? I read some bad reviews on the Boily when looking for my Yamaha. I believe they are made in China.

[Donna D.]

Look at the weight difference between the Honda 3000 and the 2000 . Approx 47# vs 134#. I'd never been able to lift the 3000 by myself. YMMV

[Bruce Wray]

The Honda 3000i (pull start) weighs 77 lbs. -- I have one. But you really do only need a 2000. There is no better make as far as clean power output goes, important in keeping your electrics happy.

Bruce

[Donna D.]

I got the weight from this page: Honda EU3000iS Super Quiet Generators (EU3000ISA) WiseSales.com

[Robin G]

I have the 3000 EU and I can get it into the back of my truck by myself. I don't think I could lift 100 pounds up into the truck...... I got to weight it to know. I will try weighing it tomorrow and post what it weighs.


Personally, I am very happy with it!

[Brian B-P]

The generator which Donna linked has an electric starter (and a battery to run it). If you want the same maximum power and current, and don't mind hand-pulling a recoil starter, (and a much smaller fuel tank, and lower continuous rated power due to the smaller engine, and more noise, and higher price) there is the Honda EU3000i Handi, at 78 pounds.

There's nothing wrong with the Wise Sales site, but you can also check out Honda equipment at the Honda Power Equipment site.

[santacruzer]

We use a Honda EU3000i with electric start to power our annual hunt camp. (12 100w bulbs, 2 small cabin A/C units, large rotisserie over the BBQ, and the occasional blender). They're great generators and relatively quiet. Even so, we keep it distant from the camp in a special shed. And much too heavy for trailer use, I'd never try to tote it around, even in the back of my truck.

[Steve Hammel]

Honda makes 2 different 3000's. The standard electric start and a portable pull start. I have a 2000 now but I did have a 3000 for awhile. I loved the 3000 electric start but it was heavy and bulky.

[deryk]

Tom, the first and most important question that hasn't been asked is what type/brand/size ac unit do you have? I see from your pictures its a rooftop unit. If its a 9000 watt then you might get by with a honda/yamaha 2000 but yamaha makes a 2400i that suposedly starts some 13500btu units.

Maybe Im a fool, but since Im poor and can't really afford to drop $1200 this year and have to do it again next year if I buy an underpowered unit or a "cheaper" one that didn't meet up to what its suposed to be. I did do a google search, and there is a lot of people on rv.net saying they are happy with their Boliy, but a few said they had nothing but problems with it. Suposedly some of the parts are interchangeable from yamaha...but I did see a post that the pull starter that was plastic and broke after a few uses and was replaced with a metal one from yamaha.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that some of the chinese companies want to make a more quality cheaper product to get the business that is going to the japanese companies, but where are the corners being cut to make it cheaper?... but there is a honda and yamaha dealers within a half an hour of me that I can drop it right off for warrantied repairs. The Boliy needs to be mailed in and even if they pay for the shipping its still an extra hassle. I like being able to get a part locally and get it up and ready just in case I need it next weekend.

just my .02 cents

deryk

[Perry J]

The biggest advantage of Honda is there is a service dept in almost evey city should you need it.
In 8 years I have had only one problem with my Honda 2000.
I didn't run it dry before winter storage and the fuel didn't have any fuel stabilizer in it.
The gas in the carburetor turned to green jelly over the winter.
I pulled the carburetor, cleaned it and it has run well ever since.

You could install an excellent solar system for less than $1100.00.

John

[deryk]

But it still won't run the air conditioner that he was asking about


deryk

[Donna D.]

deryk, can you RENT a generator (that you're looking to buy) in your domcile and test it? Shoot even $100 for 24 hours would be cheap compared to making a loooong term mistake...

[deryk]

Probably Donna I might need to look around for one that size...i know HD rents larger ones...not sure about smaller ones. If i wait till it gets warmer i could go to yamaha with my caravan and see what they have that will fire it up. Or play it safe and go a little larger abd use it as a backup for the fridge if we lose power in a storm again. The weight of the 2400 watt unit doesn't bother me.

deryk

[DeadEyeDan]

I have the Honda 2000. Runs the entire Casita with no problem. I did add the hard start capacitor that makes the initial A/C compresor hit more manageable to the generator. We rarely use the microwave, but it will run it.

Nice thing about the 2000 is that you can get the companion 2000 and hook them together. Maybe a bit more expensive that way, but at least your money is not wasted if one is too small, and it is easier to manage 47 lbs twice than 78 to 100 lbs.

(side note: we bought the CEA 90 watt solar kit and except for the A/C and microwave, it is a great solution).

[Jon Vermilye]

One point on renting or trying someone else's Honda 2000 - altitude has an effect. It may work at sea level, however at 7000' the generator is less efficient. Of course you may not need it at the higher altitude...

[deryk]

Jon is correct, altitude does lower hp of engines THE AFFECT of ALTITUDE on VEHICLE HORSEPOWER - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Dan, can I ask your ac unit, is it a window or rooftop style, how old is it, and the btu, amp and watt rateing if you know?

The idea of linking two 2000 watt units does have some appeal and I can easily carry a 45 lb unit in each arm lol

thanks

deryk

[SilverGhost]

I posted in another thread about a Champion 2000 watt generator I bought for $500. It runs the a/c and microwave (not together) in my EggCamper. One more thought is it can be linked together like some of the Hondas and has an accessory fuel tank kit to run continuously for almost 24hrs.

I searched for reviews on several web sites including different RV site. A lot of people had good luck with their Champions. There was some caution though that some of the newer ones maybe built in China.

To me $500 is doable for a generator that is as quiet as a Honda, has good reviews on dependability, and can be expanded if I need more power.

Jason

[glamourpets]

I would like to add my experience with the 2400i Yamaha mentioned earlier. I owned one of these units for commercial purposes. In my case, it really struggled to start the RV roof-top air conditioner. Some days it would start it up, others not. This was the case when it was new, and it got worse as it got older. If you set the temperature where the A/C would cycle on and off, forget it. It was useless. When the engine in it blew, I replaced it with a 4000 watt Subaru which starts the ac with no problem at all.

The Yamaha was a well built unit, but I did have problems getting parts for it. On one occasion, the generator sat at the shop for 6 weeks while we waited for back-ordered parts. When you are depending on something for commercial purposes and daily use, this is unacceptable. I will never buy a Yamaha again for this reason.

I would have considered buying a Honda, but at the time I made my purchase Honda did not offer a 4000 watt inverter generator. They either had a 2000 watt unit or we had to go up to the 6000 watt size. If you go too big, you just waste gas. This meant that to get Japanese quality, my remaining choices were Subaru or Yamaha. I bought Subaru. The Subaru has been great so far, and if I can get at least 10000 hours out of it I'll be happy.

If you want one of the cheaper Chinese generators, you might consider looking at Powerhouse. We have one of these as a backup generator. It seems to be a decent generator, though its definitely not as heavily built as the Subaru. We use it only when the Subaru is in for service. For home use, where the number of hours it runs annually low, it would probably be satisfactory. Ours has about 400 hours on it, and its needed nothing more then a light tune up and oil changes.

We have this unit here, and you will probably find it perfectly adequate for your use. The inverter generators are much quieter then the traditional style.
http://www.powerhouse-products.com/p...duct/ph3100ri/

Derek

[cpaharley2008]

What size roof top a/c do you have in your Boler?